16.6.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 214/87 Wednesday 18 January 2023
26.
Welcomes the resumption of human rights dialogues with third countries stemming from a more favourable context for engagement; is of the opinion that, where no tangible progress is reported following a series of human rights dialogues, as has occurred in a number of instances, the EU should adjust its aims, including as regards the wider conduct of bilateral relations;
EU Delegations
27.
Considers it of utmost importance to take every possible action to raise awareness on the EU’s Human Rights Guidelines in EU delegations and urges all delegations to ensure the proper implementation of these Guidelines; reiterates, in this regard, its call for the EU delegations and their human rights ‘focal points’ in third countries to do more involved work by providing regular support to human rights defenders, including Sakharov Prize laureates and finalists at risk, and by thoroughly addressing topics and individual cases raised in Parliament’s resolutions on breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law; calls for the officials in the EU delegations to raise cases of oppression and persecution of human rights defenders, democratic opposition and civil society activists to state authorities, and if the affected individuals are in detention, to monitor their situations, visit them in prison, attend their trial procedures and raise their cases in the human rights dialogues that the EU conducts with the countries concerned;
28.
Draws attention to the instances in which EU Member States' missions and EU delegations have taken different approaches on human rights protection and promotion in third countries, although EU Member States share a common commitment on this matter; underlines that EU Member States’ embassies, like EU delegations, should play an increasing role in promoting and protecting human rights, as well as supporting civil society in third countries; calls for EU delegations to establish human rights working groups bringing together the relevant services of Member States’ embassies and EU delegations, and to cooperate closely with representatives from international and regional civil society organisations in third countries concerned;
EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (GHRSR — EU Magnitsky Act)
29.
Welcomes the fact that the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime has been increasingly used as an essential tool that strengthens the EU’s role as a global human rights actor through the use of targeted sanctions by the Council; calls for the restrictive measures that have already been adopted to be implemented effectively, in full and in a coordinated manner, and for the adoption of additional measures if necessary; calls for the EU to make more dynamic use of this tool as an integral component of its foreign human rights policy; calls for the rigorous, consistent and uniform application of restrictive measures and their monitoring in all Member States, as a condition for the credibility and effectiveness of the EU’s external action; calls for the EU to work with like-minded partners to encourage more countries to adopt sanction regimes and to coordinate the adoption of targeted restrictive measures jointly in order to maximise their effectiveness at a global level; welcomes the President of the Commission’s commitment in her 2022 State of the Union Address to present measures to update the EU legislative framework for fighting corruption and to include corruption in the EU GHRSR, which is in line with Parliament’s position, in order to effectively target the economic and financial enablers of human rights abusers; reiterates its call for the introduction of qualified majority voting for the Council’s decisions and the implementation of sanctions under the EU GHRSR; reiterates its call on the Commission and the Council to strive to incorporate Parliament’s recommendations for future targeted sanctions, as stipulated in its resolutions and elsewhere;
30.
Welcomes the listings made in 2021 under the EU GHRSR; calls on the Council, the Member States and the EEAS to develop a strategy to improve the interplay between the EU GHRSR and geographical sanction regimes, in particular through making better use of the EU GHRSR to tackle violations that cannot directly be linked to a state, for example in cases in which mercenaries commit human rights violations in territories outside of government control or in cross-border cases, such as human trafficking;
31.
Expresses deep concern about and condemns some countries’ deliberate policies of arresting, arbitrarily detaining and prosecuting foreigners, including EU citizens, on trumped-up charges for propaganda purposes, to use prisoners as an instrument of international negotiation and exchange or as a means of exerting political pressure; stresses that putting such a policy into action constitutes an act of hostage-taking within the meaning of the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages; calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to take measures to prevent such acts and to warn EU citizens, especially dual nationals, about the risk of being arrested when visiting certain countries; calls on the Council to consider applying restrictive measures under the EU GHRSR to persons or entities responsible for the arbitrary arrest or detention of EU citizens as ‘state hostages’;